Bill Text: VA SB93 | 2019 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Parole; eligibility for, at liberty between offenses.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-11-30 - Left in Rehabilitation and Social Services [SB93 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-SB93-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §53.1-151 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§53.1-151. Eligibility for parole.
A. Except as herein otherwise provided, every person convicted of a felony and sentenced and committed by a court under the laws of this Commonwealth to the Department of Corrections, whether or not such person is physically received at a Department of Corrections facility, or as provided for in § 19.2-308.1:
1. For the first time, shall be eligible for parole after
serving one-fourth of the term of imprisonment imposed, or after serving twelve 12
years of the term of imprisonment imposed if one-fourth of the term of
imprisonment imposed is more than twelve 12 years;
2. For the second time, shall be eligible for parole after
serving one-third of the term of imprisonment imposed, or after serving thirteen 13
years of the term of imprisonment imposed if one-third of the term of
imprisonment imposed is more than thirteen 13 years;
3. For the third time, shall be eligible for parole after
serving one-half of the term of imprisonment imposed, or after serving fourteen 14
years of the term of imprisonment imposed if one-half of the term of
imprisonment imposed is more than fourteen 14 years;
4. For the fourth or subsequent time, shall be eligible for parole
after serving three-fourths of the term of imprisonment imposed, or after
serving fifteen 15
years of the term of imprisonment imposed if three-fourths of the term of
imprisonment imposed is more than fifteen 15 years.
For the purposes of subdivisions A
2, 3 and 4 of subsection A and for the
purposes of subsections B1 and B2, prior commitments shall include commitments
to any correctional facility under the laws of any state, the District of
Columbia, the United States or its territories for murder, rape, robbery,
forcible sodomy, animate or inanimate object sexual penetration, aggravated
sexual battery, abduction, kidnapping, burglary, felonious assault or wounding,
or manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing or possessing with the intent
to manufacture, sell, give or distribute a controlled substance, if such would
be a felony if committed in the Commonwealth. Only prior commitments
interrupted by a person's being at liberty, or resulting from the commission of
a felony while in a correctional facility of the Commonwealth, of any other
state or of the United States, shall be included in determining the number of
times such person has been convicted, sentenced and committed for the purposes
of subdivisions A
2, 3 and 4 of subsection A. "At
liberty" as used herein shall include not only freedom without any legal
restraints, but shall also include release pending trial, sentencing or appeal,
or release on probation or parole or escape. In the case of terms of
imprisonment to be served consecutively, the total time imposed shall
constitute the term of the imprisonment; in the case of terms of imprisonment
to be served concurrently, the longest term imposed shall be the term of
imprisonment. In any case in which a parolee commits an offense while on parole,
only the sentence imposed for such offense and not the sentence or sentences or
any part thereof from which he was paroled shall constitute the term of
imprisonment.
The Department of Corrections shall make all reasonable efforts to determine prior convictions and commitments of each inmate for the enumerated offenses.
B. Persons sentenced to die shall not be eligible for parole. Any person sentenced to life imprisonment who escapes from a correctional facility or from any person in charge of his custody shall not be eligible for parole.
B1. Any person convicted of three separate felony offenses of
(i) murder, (ii) rape, or
(iii) robbery by the presenting of firearms or other deadly weapon, or any
combination of the offenses specified in subdivisions clauses (i), (ii) or (iii)
when such offenses were not part of a common act, transaction or scheme, who
has been at liberty as defined in this section between each conviction,
and used a weapon during the commission of each
offense, shall not be eligible for parole.
In the event of a determination by the Department of Corrections that an
individual is not eligible for parole under this subsection, the Parole Board
may, in its discretion, review
that determination,
and make a determination for parole eligibility pursuant to regulations
promulgated by it for that purpose. Any determination of the Parole Board of
parole eligibility thereby shall supersede any prior determination of parole
ineligibility by the Department of Corrections under this subsection.
B2. Any person convicted of three separate felony offenses of manufacturing, selling, giving, distributing or possessing with the intent to manufacture, sell, give or distribute a controlled substance, when such offenses were not part of a common act, transaction or scheme, and who has been at liberty as defined in this section between each conviction, shall not be eligible for parole.
C. Any person sentenced to life imprisonment for the first
time shall be eligible for parole after serving
fifteen 15
years, except that if such sentence was for a Class 1 felony violation or the
first degree murder of a child under the age of eight in violation of §
18.2-32, he shall be eligible for parole after serving
twenty-five 25
years, unless he is ineligible for parole pursuant to subsection B1 or B2.
D. A person who has been sentenced to two or more life
sentences, except a person to whom the provisions of subsection B1, B2, or E of this section are
applicable, shall be eligible for parole after serving
twenty 20
years of imprisonment, except that if either such sentence, or both, was or
were for a Class 1 felony violation, and he is not otherwise ineligible for
parole pursuant to subsection B1, B2, or E of
this section, he shall be eligible for parole only after
serving thirty 30
years.
E. A person convicted of an offense and sentenced to life imprisonment after being paroled from a previous life sentence shall not be eligible for parole.
E1. Any person who has been convicted of murder in the first
degree, rape in violation of §18.2-61, forcible sodomy, animate or inanimate
object sexual penetration or aggravated sexual battery and who has been
sentenced to a term of years shall, upon a first commitment to the Department
of Corrections, be eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of the term of
imprisonment imposed or after serving fourteen 14 years of the term of
imprisonment imposed if two-thirds of the term of imprisonment imposed is more
than fourteen 14
years. If such person has been previously committed to the Department of
Corrections, such person shall be eligible for parole after serving
three-fourths of the term of imprisonment imposed or after serving fifteen 15
years of the terms of imprisonment imposed if three-fourths of the term of
imprisonment imposed is more than fifteen 15 years.
F. If the sentence of a person convicted of a felony and sentenced to the Department is partially suspended, he shall be eligible for parole based on the portion of such sentence execution which was not suspended.
G. The eligibility time for parole as specified in subsections
A, C and D of this section may be
modified as provided in §§53.1-191, 53.1-197 and 53.1-198.
H. The time for eligibility for parole as specified in
subsection D of this section
shall apply only to those criminal acts committed on or after July 1, 1976.
I. The provisions of subdivisions A
2, 3 and 4 of subsection A shall apply
only to persons committed to the Department of Corrections on or after July 1,
1979, but such persons' convictions and commitments shall include all felony
convictions and commitments without regard to the date of such convictions and
commitments.